A member of the ‘Mamak Gang’ was shot dead while two others were detained by police after the vehicle they were travelling in deliberately rammed several police cars at the Changkat Jering Toll Plaza, yesterday afternoon.

Perak police chief Osman Salleh said that acting on the robbery case in Rasah, Seremban in Negri Sembilan yesterday morning, a team from the Serious Crimes Branch (D9) and the CID from Taiping District Police Headquarters came across all the suspects who were in a Volkswagen Passat car at the scene of the location.

“The suspects, who refused to stop after being ordered, then rammed the police car and police had to open fire which hit the driver on the ribs.

“The deceased suspect was 38 years old while the other two who were detained were aged 31 and 33. All of them were from Perak and had previous criminal cases,” he said at a media conference in Taiping late last night.

According to Osman, during the incident a BMW 5 Series car, believed to be carrying the suspects’ colleagues, arrived at the scene and attempted to knock down the police car before escaping from the police cordon.

Osman said the BMW car was later found without the driver and passengers at Kilometer 237.7 of the North-South Expressway (Plus) south-bound and an inspection later found several items including a Semi Auto Barreta pistol, police vests, parang, 20 sets of vehicle number plates, a pair of handcuffs and two walkie-talkies.

A check on the Volkswagen which was believed to be robbed at Bukit Raja, Klang, Selangor last year revealed a sum of RM2,400 in cash besides several other items including vehicle number plates, parang and caps with the police emblem.

“Police believe that they have busted the Mamak Gang involved in various crimes such as robbery, breaking into and stealing luxury vehicles in several states.

“Up to January, the gang had committed 25 crimes in Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan involving losses estimated at RM2.4 million,” he said, adding that three police cars were damaged in the incident.

- Bernama